Scott Novak

Good whistle discipline is vital to good officiating

by Mark Schultz - December 16, 2022December 16, 2022 2

Referee Scott Novak and umpire Ramon George faced a difficult and potentially dangerous play in Week 14: a fumble scramble turned into a surprising touchdown run for the Miami Dolphins. https://streamable.com/gshb65 There a few mechanics things to unpack here. See leather! When there's a fumble and the ball disappears under a pile of several

Candidates for white hat in 2019

Crews
News

by Mark Schultz - January 31, 2019January 31, 2019 9

The coveted white hat worn by the referee There are two referee openings for the 2019 season after Walt Coleman and Pete Morelli retired. So far, they are the only two referees we know who have retired. There are very few chances for the NFL to test officials for future referee openings.

After unprecedented referee turnover, 4 officials will try out to get the next promotion

News

by Mark Schultz - August 13, 2018August 13, 2018 3

The NFL is giving four of its officials the chance to audition to be future referees, or white hats.Â Since there are so few opportunitiesÂ for the NFL to see how prospective referees would handle the new position, these preseason tryouts are very important. The NFL will assign the four officials to one

NFL has several options for Steratore’s replacement

by Mark Schultz - June 25, 2018January 29, 2019 1

NFL officiating was center stage last week as two of its top referees, Terry McAulay and Gene Steratore, abruptly announced their retirement from the field in order to become rules analysts on network TV. At the end of the 2017 season, Jeff Triplette and Ed Hochuli retired. This is the first

Parry playoff crew displays shock and awe in calling a strict game

by Mark Schultz - January 10, 2016January 10, 2016 59

Embed from Getty ImagesÂ John Parry's crew set the tone in the pregame warm-ups: There would not be a repeat of the Week 14 nonsense between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals. That game featured several altercations that later drew league fines.Parry's crew put on a visible display in the pregame.

NFL announces 2014 officials

News

by Mark Schultz - May 22, 2014July 16, 2014 9

This post has been updated to reflect changes in the 2014 officiating staff after the initial announcement. The NFL has announced its 2014 roster of officials (full list below after the jump). Â The roster features 12 new hires. Â Earlier we reported that 11 officials were not going to return to the

NFL hires five more officials

Profiles

by Mark Schultz - April 9, 2014April 9, 2014 6

Four new hires have collegiate referee experience Football Zebras has learned the names of five more college officials hired by the NFL, and that there will be a total of eleven new officials in 2014. Alex Kemp, Brad Allen,Â Scott Novak, Bryan Neale and Brad Freeman have been hired by the NFL according

NFL winds down advanced training program as college season opens

by Ben Austro - August 28, 2013December 31, 2019 1

As Labor Day weekend approaches, the developmental officials that comprised the NFL's "taxi squad" are headed back to their college conferences for the start of the college football season. It is officially known as the advanced training program, the NFL initiative that brought 21 officials from the major college conferences to